Hey guys, Just wondering If anyone has actually logged their deer sightings in coordination with the moon phase. There are so many lunar deer calendars and predictions out there. I have never acutally seen what it was supposed to be then compared to what I actually witnessed in the field. Has anyone done this? And if so does it seem to be relatively accurate?
There are so many other factors that come into play, to rely simply on moon phase. Wind, air temp, time of year, rut phase, hunting pressure, etc. I certainly would choose a new moon over a full moon, but I think too much emphasis is put on the moon.
That's kinda how I was feeling. I agree with the 3000 other factors that come into play. They actually have programs you can buy that will help plan "the perfect day to hunt" . I never cared for that stuff much, I just hunt when and as often as I can.
If I was only allowed to hunt one week out of the year...I'll be honest I'd go by the moon phase week that Charlie Alsheimer says "should" be best. Otherwise I'll hunt when I can, as much as I can and continue to defy the lunar phases from time to time!
I can't say either way. Some guys will say this is a bunch of hog wash. I am am undecided. I do know we see an increased number of inbound calls at work during a full moon. We track these statistics very closely. Moon phases appear to effect humans, why not deer???
X2 They say that a full moon isn't any good, but some of the best days I've ever spent in a treestand where during full moon periods. I've paid close attention to this over the years and honestly, I can't draw up much of a correlation between moon phase and deer movement, at least not during hunting season. It may have more of an effect outside of the breeding season however. For me, I don't care what the moon does. When its late October, deer are going to start showing signs of the rut winding up, regardless. It's like clockwork. I think weather conditions, like abnormally warm temps, heavy rains and winds, etc., dictate more about what we see in the woods from day to day than anything else. Even if its 80 degrees in early November, the deer are still rutting, but they most likely aren't moving as much in the heat. The does dictate the movement we see during the rut more than anything IMO. If they're on their feet, so are the bucks. Forget the moon, just hunt.
Ive looked back through all my logs and trail cam pic's over the years and found that moon transit increases deer movement....I also found that moon phase has little to no influence on movement.
I've gotten more pictures of deer on the trail cameras feeding at night on full moons compared to new moons, but that's about the extent of how I've personally seen it affect deer movement around here. For me it doesn't play as much of a role as all the other factors and has very little to do with when i decide to hunt.
I'm a big believer in the moon phases due to the fact that I see more deer earlier in the evenings on new moons much more than Full moons because they feed throughout the night with full moons. I try to hunt according to wind and moon as my two big factors. Although this year I did get my deer during a full moon phase but it was a morning hunt as he was headed to bed.
I put limited weight on moon cycles. I am sure they have some significance but not as much as weather. When they all line up though, look out brother. This morning was a perfect example. I have an app on my phone that rates my day according to moon phase. It was predicting an 85/100 day (excellent) for today. We have just had a good cold front move in recently and last night was the second night of temps at or below freezing. Deer all over us this morning. More than I have seen all season.
This is something that Ive just recently began toying with. While I do believe that the moon can make a difference, I think the weather, time of year, food sources, and rut cycle make more of a difference. Im planning on taking 10 days off in early November, and honestly, since no weathermen can predict the forecast that far out, I picked my dates based on the moon. Seems pretty logical, but I guess we'll see.
